Larry Moore, shoe shine man, faces tough surgery

C.W. Nevius On San Francisco

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, December 9, 2010

Larry Moore, the Market Street shoe shine guy, has a debilitating infection and needs surgery. Now he worries that he's letting down all the readers who helped him get on his feet.

Larry Moore, the Market Street shoe shine guy, has a debilitating infection and needs surgery. Now he worries that he's letting down all the readers who helped him get on his feet.

Photo: C.w. Nevius

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Bruce McCoy (left) has his shoes shined by Larry Moore while another customer Anthony Garner (center) waits his turn at Market and New Montgomery streets in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2009.

Bruce McCoy (left) has his shoes shined by Larry Moore while another customer Anthony Garner (center) waits his turn at Market and New Montgomery streets in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2009.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Larry Moore displays the tools of his shoeshine trade at Market and New Montgomery streets in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2009.

Larry Moore displays the tools of his shoeshine trade at Market and New Montgomery streets in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2009.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Jill Sideman wishes shoeshine man Larry Moore (left) luck after giving him a tip and a hug at Market and New Montgomery streets in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2009.

Jill Sideman wishes shoeshine man Larry Moore (left) luck after giving him a tip and a hug at Market and New Montgomery streets in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 4, 2009.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Larry Moore, shoe shine man, faces tough surgery

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A year and a half ago, Larry Moore - the dapper, homeless shoe shine man - provided a warm moment for a city that loves a happy ending.

There just may not be one for Larry.

On Tuesday night, he was in San Francisco General Hospital. On Friday, he's facing a delicate operation on his back that may end his shoe shining days. The surgery isn't optional. He looks awful. He's in pain. When people visit, often there are tears.

"It's tough when people care about you," he said. "So many of them helped me. So many of them still care. I feel like I let them down more than I let myself down."

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Larry first gained attention when he told me about living under a freeway ramp and trying to make his way off the streets by shining shoes. That ended up getting him a citation from the city for not having the proper permit. The city ended up working with Larry, through donations and the support of generous readers, he found a place to live and even started a little savings account.

That's the frustrating part of Larry's story. It's not as if he fell off the wagon or was reckless with money.

His past came back to bite him. In an odd way, it was the help he got that put him in the hospital. When Larry got his first real checkup in years, Dr. Josh Bamberger, medical director for the city's Housing and Urban Health Clinic, discovered an abscess in his back. Further examination showed Larry had a terrible, long-standing infection in his spine.

The infection might have been residue of his former drug use, but it was certainly compounded by the plate a doctor bolted to his vertebrae 10 years ago after a car accident. Now that plate will have to be removed with the hope the bones have fused. If not, the recovery could take years.

Larry fought the idea of surgery vehemently. He's worried about his apartment, which he got at a sweetheart rate - $300 a month - from a generous local real estate group whose members read his story in the paper. The rate stays the same as long as he keeps up payments. But if he falls behind, he's back on the street.

That's why he worked even when blood soaked through the back of his shirt.

"My health started deteriorating in July and August," he said. "I was just in so much pain. I'd go down there a couple of times a week and shine two or three pairs of shoes and go home. My regulars would come by, hand me a couple of bucks and say, 'Why don't you take the day off?' "

He was taking powerful medications, including morphine, which left him pain free but whacked out.

"When I felt good, I didn't look good enough to go down there," he said. "I didn't want my customers to see me sitting there in my chair and just nodding away. They'd think I was back to the old dope and drinking."

When he failed to show up on his corner at Market and New Montgomery, the haters sent me smug, almost gleeful, notes. Too bad you fell for Larry's scam, they said - that's the problem with trying to help these guys, sooner or later they slide back into the abyss.

But a remarkable number of people have stuck with him. A downtown attorney who met Larry on the street, Loren Lopin, has helped him set up a bank account, among other things.

"He's got a real fan base over here on the street," said Lopin, who predicted the regulars would pitch in if they knew the problems. "It's just that he hasn't been out here the last few weeks."

This year, Lopin invited Larry to Thanksgiving dinner with his family. He winced when his 2-year-old son kept jumping in his lap, but Larry's fork never stopped.

"Hey, you don't eat like that when all you have is a microwave," Larry said later.

For once, it all seemed as if it was working out. Larry was a homeless man who wanted help but insisted on earning his keep. City services stepped in, offering medical care. Ordinary people reached out because they saw a guy who was trying to make a difference in his life.

To have it come to this is discouraging. A lot of people ask: If Larry can't make it, what's the point? Larry Moore isn't one of them.

"I'm blessed," he said. "I may be the most blessed person in San Francisco."

Postscript: Several thoughtful readers have written to ask if they could contribute to help Larry Moore pay his rent while he is recovering from his surgery.

His friend Loren Lopin has agreed to deposit checks in a bank account for Larry. If you'd like to help, make a check payable to Larry Moore and send it to the law offices of Loren Lopin, 625 Market St., Suite 1600, San Francisco, CA 94105.

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